December 2013

The
Bell XV-3 was the first successful tilt-rotor aircraft, a direct ancestor of
the Bell XV-15 and Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey. It was the first tilt-rotor
to perform a full conversion from helicopter mode to airplane mode and back;
that is, converting from a helicopter configuration to the relatively higher
speeds of an airplane. This was accomplished by rotating (or tilting) its
rotors forward. The project was initiated in 1953, and two aircraft were built
at the Bell Helicopter facilities in Hurst, Texas (east of Fort Worth). The
aircraft's first flight took place on August 11th, 1955. Most of the
initial flight testing was conducted in Fort Worth, and the second test article
was eventually transferred to NASA for additional flight testing. The aircraft
survived its extensive flight test program, which ended in 1966.

The
surviving XV-3 was beautifully restored by current and former Bell personnel. The
aircraft currently resides at the National Museum of the US Air Force, in
Dayton, Ohio.

By Erasmo Piñero

Go back to the photo for last month or check out the photo for 'The Year at a Glance'